Focal Sib Evo Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 Speaker System Review

An excellent value with solid performance, only held back by a frustrating binding post design 4 Stars

The Focal Sib Evo Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 system is a ‘Home Theater in a box’ type of setup, boasting two Sib Evo Dolby Atmos loudspeakers with upward facing drivers that provide the .2 Atmos configuration. Three surround satellite speakers provide 360° coverage and adds a center channel that can be modified to sit horizontally. A 200-watt Cub Evo subwoofer lends oomph to the system, providing clear and tight bass for a small package.

Price – $1299.99

What’s in the box?

2 Sib Evo Dolby Atmos Loudspeakers

The two front speakers include angled upward facing drivers on top of the speaker that bounces the high signal off the ceiling, creating the illusion of having the left and right in-ceiling high speakers, supporting the Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 configuration.

3 Sib Evo Satellite Surround speakers (includes center channel)

1 Cub Evo Subwoofer

Rubber feet for all speakers

Mounting brackets for surrounds

What I used to review:

Movies

Moulin Rouge (Blu-ray)

Jurassic Park (Blu-ray)

John Wick 1 (Blu-ray)

Music

Muse: Live at Rome Olympic Stadium (flac)

Pink Floyd – The Wall (flac)

B-Tribe Volume 6 – Holophon (flac)

Games (PS4)

Assassin’s Creed: Origins

Destiny 2

Bloodborne

Dying Light

Setup – 7/10

My biggest gripe…heck, my only real gripe with these speakers, is the setup. Those damned speaker ports! Trying to get the speaker wire to stay in the ports was a nightmare. Granted, I was running a thicker gauge than what was meant for the Sib Evo speakers, but the binding posts are poorly engineered nonetheless. The speakers have a push button configuration which, when the button is pushed, opens the ports on the speaker to allow you to insert the speaker wire. Unfortunately, both ports are opened by the same button, and if one of your cables doesn’t fit exactly and is perhaps holding the port just a little more open than the other cable, then your other cable will tend to slip out. This could easily be fixed by having the ports open independently from each other. Each of the speakers comes with a rubber foot, which allows for easy installation and positioning. Installing the surrounds was a breeze, and one of the surrounds can double as a center channel. It even allows for turning the center channel horizontally and setting it on the rubber foot makes it easy to adjust the angle of the speaker.

Sound – 8/10

Left and Right

I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the sound. Highs were crisp and sharp, mids were mellow and had a nice tone. Plenty of power at normal volume levels. Both live and studio recorded music sounds great through these speakers.

Surround

Great sound from the surround. No delay in noises that travelled 360 ° around the room. Conversations were crisp and clear through the center channel. Same nice highs and mids from the surrounds as well. It was especially fantastic while playing games like Destiny or Assassins Creed: Origins. Nothing like walking through the Great Library of Alexandria, hearing all kinds of conversations all around you, and hearing those conversations easily flow from one speaker to the other while maintaining richness in sound as you move your character around. Incredibly immersive!

Dolby Atmos Highs

These were very impressive! Rain sounded like it was falling from the ceiling. Gunshots rang out above my head. Wind was blowing around and over me. Very pleased with these, more so for not actually having physical speakers in the ceiling. Those upward facing drivers do a fantastic job.

Cub Subwoofer

I was rather pleased with this little sub. Coming in at just 200 watts of power, you’d not expect such punchy, yet well controlled bass. Massive, hard hitting explosions tended to get a little muddy, but anything else and this sub was handling it beautifully. It especially shined when listening to music.

Value – 10/10

Priced at a very reasonable $1300, you’re getting the sound quality of a higher priced system, in addition to supporting a Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 configuration. You could easily pay twice that amount for a similar experience. The sub was surprisingly punchy and tight, the surrounds were all responsive and put out great sound, and the front facing loudspeakers really provide a rich, powerful listening experience. As soon as you get passed the installation headache, this system is easily worth much more than the price you’re paying. Hopefully Focal will address the binding post issues in further iterations of these speakers.

Overall – 8.5/10

Great sound quality, punchy yet not overpowering bass, Dolby Atmos high speaker configuration, and a very reasonable price tag makes this system a definite contender with higher priced setups. Fantastic for someone looking for a ‘Home theater in a box’ type of setup / all in one package. Excellent bang for your buck.

Pros

Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 configuration

Powerful Subwoofer for its size

Great sound quality

Great build quality (stylish and functional)

Great bang for your buck

Cons

Speaker binding posts tend to let speaker wire slip out of the post until you dial it in just right.